Temptation (New Order song)

"Temptation"
12" cover sleeve
Single by New Order
B-side	"Hurt"
Released	10 May 1982
Recorded	1981
Studio	Advision Studios, London
Genre	New wave [1] [2] post-punk [3]
Length	5:21(7") 8:47 (12") 7:00 (1987 version) 4:08 (1998 version)
Label	Factory – FAC 63
Songwriter(s)	Gillian Gilbert Peter Hook Stephen Morris Bernard Sumner [4]
Producer(s)	New Order
New Order singles chronology
"Everything's Gone Green" (1981) "Temptation" (1982) "Blue Monday" (1983)
Music Video
"Temptation" on YouTube

"Temptation" is the fourth single released by English band New Order, released on 10 May 1982 through Factory Records. Released as the last of a string of stand-alone singles early in the band's career, "Temptation" reached number 29 on the UK Singles Chart.

Original release

The 7" version is a more structured version with a commercial synthpop feel; the 12" is more chaotic with the emphasis on electronic rhythms rather than melody. The 7" version plays at 33⅓ rpm to accommodate its length of around five and a half minutes. Both versions bear the same catalogue number "FAC 63" despite these differences. ^[5]

The 12" versions of both "Temptation" and its B-side, "Hurt", appear on New Order's compilation EP 1981–1982 , released a few months after the single itself. ^[6]

Neither version mentioned the band's name on the sleeve; instead the song title and catalogue number FAC 63 were embossed into the cover. ^[5]

The vocal track on the original 12" version features an audible "startled yelp" during the song's intro. Vocalist Bernard Sumner has since explained that the scream was from him due to bandmates thrusting a snowball down his shirt during recording. ^[7]

Critical reception

The Village Voice critic Robert Christgau described the original version of "Temptation" as being "where Manchester's finest stop hearing ghosts and stake their claim to a danceable pop of unprecedented grimness and power," noting that it was "the first real song this sharp-cornered sound-and-groove band has ever come up with." ^[8]

Temptation '87

A re-recorded version of the song (titled "Temptation '87 on the 2023 reissue) ^[9] was created for the compilation album Substance 1987. ^[10] The original recording of the song is available on third CD of the 2023 expanded reissue. ^[11]

Music video

In 2006 the song was interpreted in a video titled The Temptation of Victoria by filmmaker Michael Shamberg, who had directed a number of music videos for New Order. ^[12] The video features Victoria Bergsman of Swedish band The Concretes, who portrays a young woman in Paris who steals a vinyl copy of the song's original 12-inch release from a vintage record shop (the now defunct Bimbo Tower), along with a bouquet from a flower shop. She returns to her apartment and begins dancing to the record, causing the video to switch from black and white into color.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Gillian Gilbert, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris and Bernard Sumner.

7": FAC 63 (UK)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Temptation"	5:21
2.	"Hurt"	4:47

12": FAC 63 (UK)

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Temptation"	8:47
2.	"Hurt"	8:13

Charts

Chart (1982)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart [13]	29
UK Independent Singles Chart [14]	1
US Billboard Hot Dance Club Play [15]	68

References

1. Kellman, Andy. "Various Artists – The Indie Scene 1982: The Story of British Independent Music". AllMusic . Retrieved 10 January 2016.
2. Hsu, Hua (5 May 2006). "Better Than Prozac". Slate . Retrieved 12 April 2016.
3. Molanphy, Chris (12 May 2023). "Champagne Supernova Edition". Hit Parade | Music History and Music Trivia (Podcast). Slate . Retrieved 18 June 2023.
4. "ASCAP entry". ascap.com. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
5. "Factory Records: FAC 63 NEW ORDER Temptation". factoryrecords.org. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
6. "Factory Records: FACTUS 8 NEW ORDER 1981-1982". factoryrecords.org. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
7. "We've had it large". The Guardian . 22 November 2002. Retrieved 14 April 2015.
8. "Robert Christgau, Consumer Guide Review: New Order – 1981–1982". robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 21 May 2010.
9. "Substance '87 (2LP)". New Order - Official Store. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
10. "'Substance 1987': Behind The New Order 12" Singles That Changed The World". Dig!. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
11. "New Order's 'Substance 1987' Is Even More Essential on Re-issue » PopMatters". www.popmatters.com. 16 November 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
12. "The Temptation of Victoria". Tribeca Film Festival . Retrieved 23 February 2024.
13. "The Official Charts Company: New Order". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 2 October 2008.
14. "Indie Hits "N"". Cherry Red Records. Archived from the original on 6 June 2011. Retrieved 2 October 2008.
15. "New Order: Billboard singles". Allmusic. Retrieved 23 November 2010.